This was my favorite Night of the Arts yet! We had so many families attend the music program, create art with their children, and view the work their children have made this year.

Our Night of the Arts consists of a PreK/VPK through fifth grade art exhibit from 5:30-7:30 in the cafeteria and a music program outside the cafeteria beginning at 6:30.

PreK/ VPK

Second Grade

​The event has changed so much over the years, and each year I believe the show has improved. I've learned to work smarter, so it doesn't have to be as stressful as it was during my first year teaching.

Asking for help from volunteers and teachers has saved me so much time. I set up the whole show the day of the event, and I have temporary duty after lunch to begin setting up. The other teachers come to help around 3:00 and it was like magic how it all came together so quickly. I do hang the mural the afternoon before because it is the most time consuming element. It takes me about forty minutes to get all of the pieces to the cafeteria and taped in place.

Awards presented to two students in each grade level. Presented on the Monday after the event.

Third Grade Nests, First Grade Hearts

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

We begin the pieces that will be displayed in the Night of the Arts in January and February. This gives me plenty of time for the lengthy projects, like ceramics and the mural. This year, I was completely done mounting and labeling artwork about two weeks before the show. Then, I could focus on the little things like refreshments and cutting paper to size for the tables. ​

Cafeteria set up. I removed tables and split up the rows this year. This allowed for more movement through the space. With more people attending this year, it worked perfectly!

I am so proud of what this event has become. It is wonderful to work in an environment where the arts are supported so greatly and we can have events like this. Now to start dreaming of ideas for next year!

I think this will now be my go-to scissor skills lesson for kindergarten! I love that we used a variety of techniques and that the kids were so proud of their work. I wouldn't recommend doing this lesson early in the year because scissor skills like this can be overwhelming for them, but it really works well mid to late year. ​I had done bubble printing before, but hadn't extended it beyond printing multiple colors on one paper. This year I wanted to do more. We printed blue and light blue on white paper and the printed red on orange. The cutting and finishing touches took longer than I had anticipated. We did the sand and grasses on one day (practicing drawing wavy lines). On another day, we cut and glued the fish and used oil pastels for the details. My kindergartners LOVE oil pastels. They think of them as really special soft crayons. It's adorable when they get so excited about art materials.

Madeleine Pinaire

I am an eighth year art teacher with degrees in Art Education, living and working in northern Florida. Each week, I teach over six hundred students in grades PreK through fifth. Here you will find what we are learning in the art classroom!